Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland: Rizza’s, a family-owned Italian ice cream business, been working with Gray & Adams for the last 40 years.
The initial brief to Gray & Adams in the 1970s was to build a bespoke 7.5 tonne temperature-controlled van that could fit into the docking station at the factory in Huntly, which had a low-height door.
This vehicle had to be able to fit into the door and was to be plugged in overnight. Inside the van, eutectic beams would freeze through the night and hold their temperature to keep their products frozen throughout the delivery service the next day.
Rizza’s has chosen Gray & Adams for every vehicle ever since. When Rizza’s then moved to a purpose-built factory in Huntly in 2002, the vehicle specification changed to standard refrigerated height box bodies which they can run for 15 to 20 years at a time.
This longevity and lifetime value have been the hallmark of this customer relationship and have ensured that Gray & Adams vehicles are the benchmark of quality for Rizza’s fleet. With a growing product range, including both dry and frozen products to its repertoire, the specification of the vans now includes storage compartments on both sides at the front of the body for dry goods, with frozen and chilled products in the remainder of the body.
Additionally, in 2004, Rizza’s expanded to include the Wiltshire Farm Foods franchise for the Northeast of Scotland. This gave Gray & Adams an opportunity to build a tailor-made 50-foot cold store with an awning that could hold their range of frozen products as the Rizza’s business continued to grow, removing the need for them to hire a store from elsewhere in the UK, reducing costs and overheads for their customer.
“Gray & Adams have been exceptionally good to us over the years and, as a result, I can’t see past their extraordinary product value and service excellence,” says Philip Morrison, managing director, Rizza’s Ice Cream.
“We’ve been working with some of the team for the 40+ years and their expertise is second to none. Though the longevity of their products means that we don’t have to purchase often, whether we’ve needed fast-track support, quick turnaround minor repairs or refurbishment support, they have never let us down. Gray & Adams can count on our business for many years to come.”
